FERTILIZERS 



S 







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Book 






Copyright )^^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



2^ t t- y^ ^^ 



FERTILIZERS 



■THEIR 



SOURCE, PURCHASE AND USE 

An Elementary Treatise For The 
Use of Farmers and Fruitgrowers 

BY 

CARROLL B. SMITH 




REDLANDS, CAL: 

CITROGRAPH BOOK PRESS 
19 3 






COPYBIGHTED 1908, 

BT 

CABBOLL B. SMITH 






TO THE READER. 

This pamphlet is written expressly for those who are 
forced to vse fertilizers from year to year and yet have not 
the time to investigate the subject as they would like to. 
It is intended to be brief and suggestive of thought to the 
reader rather than complete and final. 

All the facts and deductions contained are based on the 
highest authorities on the subjects mentioned, or on the 
results of actual experience in California. Those interested 
are advised to study the subjects completely in such volumes 
as F. H. Store fs ''Agriculture,'' 3 Vols.; L. H. Bailey's 
*^ Principles of Agriculture ;" J. P. Roberts' ''Fertility oi 
the Land ;" C. M. Aikman's "Measures and Manuring," 
and bulletins of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

The author hopes that the matter here given will aid 
the farmer to choose and purchase his fertilizers most 
wisely, and help him to get the best possible results from 
their use. There is no hnal authority in Nature. She is 
always busy making exceptions ; therefore, every farmer's 
problems are his own and he must do his own thinking. 
The author has tried to present only well established facts 
and general PRINCIPLES. A fuller knowledge of these, 
properly applied, will lead to better results and larger 
promts. 

Redlands, California. CARROLL B. SMITH. 



Essential "Plant Food. 



Each of the three plant foods, nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid and potash, are called essentia] ingredients in 
fertilizers, as they are the elements first exhausted 
from the soil by plants. There are eleven other ele- 
ments just as essential to perfect plant growth as 
these three, but the soil never becomes depleted of 
them, and it is not necessary to supply them, except 
in rare cases. Sometimes lime and iron are supplied 
to the soil, though not regularly. Lime is used to 
set free nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, when 
they are known to be in the soil in insoluble condi- 
tion and in large amounts. But, as lime adds no 
necessary ingredient, its continued use alone will ex- 
haust a soil. If a soil is known to lack iron, this may 
be added to make green foliage and to deepen color 
of oranges. 

If a soil becomes unproductive under good tillage 
it is because one or more of the three essential plant 
foods has become exhausted. Hence commercial fertil- 
izers have come to be composed of various amounts 
and forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. 
Commercial fertilizers are simply concentrated forms 
of plant food. A good top soil contains every element 

6 



essential to plant growth and is a fertilizer, but it is 
not sufficiently concentrated to pay for handling and 
transportation. 

Each of the three plant foods, nitrogen, phos- 
phoric acid and potash, have their respective market 
values for each 1 per cent., or unit, of 20 pounds to 
the ton. If a ton of fertilizer contains 3 per cent, pot- 
ash, that means 60 pounds. The purchaser will have 
to know the market value and the source of the 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash before he can 
determine the value of a ton of a certain analysis. 
The source is very important, because the most avail- 
able forms have the highest market value. Without 
this knowledge, a certain brand may sell for $40 a 
ton and another worth only one-half its value ($20 
per ton) may sell more readil^^ for $38. 

Each of the three essential plant foods has its 
special part to do in the building of the plant. One 
cannot do the work of the other. As an illustration : 
Nitrogen in the absence of potash may produce a 
luxuriant and rapid growth but it will be weak and 
broken down b^^the first wind ; add potash and that 
same succulent, weak growth will be matured and 
have strength enough to carry its load of fruit. 
Potash alone will not produce the growth, but will 
mature it. Both nitrogen and potash have many 
other functions to perform. 

Phosphoric acid, or phosphorus, must be present 
7 



in order that the plant may assimilate its nitrogen. 
The process (osmosis) by which nutrients pass 
through the plant from cell to cell is facilitated by 
the presence of phosphoric acid. Phosphorus is nec- 
essary^ for the seed's embrj^o development and for the 
formation of chlorophyll (the green coloring matter 
of plants). 

Thus, while the essential plant foods each have 
many independent functions to perform, they are 
mutually dependent upon each other, and mutually 
helpful in the building of the plant tissue. 

The condition of the soil ma^^ be such that the 
purchase of only one fertilizing element is necessary, 
and since the sources of nitrogen and phosphoric 
acid and their functions are so many and varied, the 
question, " What fertilizer to use," and '* How to pur- 
chase it most economically," is of vital interest to 
the farmer and one difficult to solve. 



SOURCE OF FERTILIZERS. 

THE SOURCES OF NITROGEN. 

Nitrogen may be obtained from these sources : — 
Air, ammonia, nitrates and animal matter. In cer- 
tain forms of animal matter, such as hoofs, horns, 
coarse bone, leather and wool waste, the nitrogen 
becomes available too slowly to be of much value. 
But as green manure, ammonia, nitrates, blood, fine 

8 



bone, tankage, or blood and bone, fish, and finely 
ground and screened guano, the nitrogen is in good 
form and soon beeomes available. 

As these forms require different lengths of time to 
become available, judgment must be used in their 
application. Nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammo- 
nia dissolve almost immediately in water, so the full 
amount of a year's supply should not be applied at 
once, as some will be sure to be lost in waste water. 
Blood and bone, as a source of nitrogen and phos- 
phoric acid, would be a better combination than 
nitrate and bone. Blood and fish require more time 
to become available than nitrates, and bone a longer 
time than blood. 

"The most valuable sources of organic nitrogen, 
from the standpoints of uniformity in composition, 
richness in the constituent, and availabilty, are dried 
blood, dried meat, and concentrated tankage, which 
are produced in large quantities in slaughter houses 
and rendering estabhshments." (Farmers' Bulletin, 
No. 44, U. S. Dept. Agriculture.) 

The most concentrated form of nitrogen is 
ammonium sulphate, containing about 19% or 24% 
of ammonia. Nitrate of soda contains as high as 
16% nitrogen, blood 14%, hoof and horn meal 14%, 
slaughter house tankage from 5% to 10%, raw bone 
314%, bat guano 9%, sea fowl guano 12%. There 
are numerous other sources of nitrogen, but the 



above are those most generally used. The contents 
as given are in terms of nitrogen and approximately 
the maximum. 

NITRIFICATION. 

This is the process by which the nitrogen of 
organic matter is changed into nitrates. The 
ammonia and nitrogen of all fertilizers comes from 
organic matter, and all organic materials contain 
more or less of those substances in some form. 
Nitrate of soda in the nitrified product of some 
organic material, whether of seaweed or animals, is 
not definitely known. Ammonium sulphate also has 
an organic origin, being a by-product of carbonizing 
works. 

Humus (which is decayed animal or vegetable 
matter) is the main source of the plant's nitrogen. 
When organic matter is applied to the soil it must 
first decay and then nitrify before its nitrogen be- 
comes available to the plant. Two processes are 
necessary. The decay is produced by one set of 
bacteria and their product is humus. Then the sub- 
stance is attacked b^^ another set of bacteria which 
form nitrates. This latter process is nitrification. 
The nitrates thus formed are water-soluble and can 
be absorbed by root hairs into plant tissue. 

NITROGEN FROM AIR. 

Certain plants of the leguminosee group have 
power to accumulate nitrogen from the air to the 

10 



process of growth. Such plants are the lupins and 
vetches. Peas, clover, alfalfa and the native w^ild 
lupins when grown as catch or cover crops and 
ploughed under maintain the store of nitrogen in 
soils. But, in this case, as with other organic sub- 
stances, the two processes of decay and nitrification 
are necessary before the nitrogen thus gathered be- 
comes available. As nitrogen is the most expensive 
of all fertilizing elements the importance and economy 
of a green cover crop ploughed under is considerable. 

( See also ' ' Humus . " ) 

SOURCES OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 

Phosphoric acid, or phosphorous, in fertilizers, is 
always found in combination with other elements. 
Usually it is obtained from bone or phosphate rocks. 
As rock it cannot become readily available without 
treatment with sulphuric acid. As bone, unacidu- 
lated, it must be very fineh^ ground to be available, 
and when thus ground is undoubtedly the best form 
for citrus culture, as it is all equally available and its 
ability to rot or ferment has not been destro^^ed by 
the acid. 

ACIDULATED PHOSPHATES. 

These are made by treating bone or phosphate 
rock with sulphuric acid. Their value may vary 
according to the amount of acid used by the manu- 
facturer. If 800 pounds of acid were used with 1200 

11 



pounds of bone or rock, it would be a 40% acidula- 
tion, as 800 is 40% of 2000 pounds. 

In acidulated goods, whether rock or bone, there 
are always three forms of phosphoric acid — a soluble 
form, a '' reverted " form, and an insoluble form. The 
last is of no commercial value. The '^ reverted " is of 
doubtful value, as it has to first undergo a chemical 
change before becoming available. The soluble is 
immediately available. A dealer giving an analysis 
should not mention the amount of insoluble phos- 
phoric acid, as it is confusing. An insoluble portion 
is necessary- in order to obtain the soluble, but does 
not add value to the fertilizer. State laws, as a rule, 
allow the reverted to be estimated as available with 
the water-soluble, so that the soluble and reverted 
forms constitute the phosphoric value of a fertilizer. 

It must be remembered that in using acidulated 
goods (bone or rock) if an abundance of lime be 
present in the soil, the soluble form of phosphoric 
acid unites chemically with the lime and is made 
again insoluble as if it had never been treated. Iron, 
and alumina, and other bases, produce the same 
effect on acidulated phosphates. The reversion, how- 
ever, depends on the amount of acid used by the 
manufacturer and the quantity of lime, iron, etc., in 
the soil. 

STEAMED BONE. 

Steaming bones removes the fats and gelatines, 
12 



thus facilitating decay and availability, as such bone 
can be ground finer than raw bone, and thus becomes 
more subject to the attack of soil moisture and 
various dissolving agents. 

Raw bone contains from 3% to4V^% nitrogen and 
about 22 ?4 or 23% phosphoric acid. Steaming reduces 
the nitrogen and correspondingly increases the phos- 
phoric acid, so that steamed bone may run as low as 
1% nitrogen and as high as 25% or 30 % phosphoric 
acid. The best effect from the phosphoric acid of 
steamed bone is had when the bone is used in connec- 
tion with some ammoniate such as blood, or blood 
and bone, or manure. Nitrogen or ammonia increases 
the efficiency of phosphoric acid, and for this reason 
phosphoric acid from animal or vegetable sources is 
regarded as the best, the most effective and the most 
readily available form. 

THOMAS PHOSPHATE SLAG ( POWDER). 

Thomas slag, a product of iron furnaces, is a 
good source of phosphoric acid, though not so gene- 
rally used as bone or rock. This material has to be 
finely ground to be of value, as it is not acidulated. 
It w411 analyze as high as 20 % phosphoric acid. 
Thomas slag also contains much lime, which fact 
should be considered when it is used in presence of 
ammonium sulphate, or barn manures, as the lime will 
drive off the ammonia. One brand offered for sale in 
Los Angeles contains 17.28 % phosphoric acid, 

13 



46.20% lime, and iron oxide 18.37%. It maybe 
used to best advantage on trees which have made 
strong, nitrogenous gro\srth at the expense of fruit 
production, and also on peaty soils, poor in lime. 
Water will not dissolve slag, therefore it should be 
put in as deeply as possible. 

PHOSPHATE GUANOS. 

The guanos of bats and sea fowl are also valuable 
sources of phosphoric acid. These materials, how- 
ever, vary in analysis ver>' much. Each consignment 
should be analyzed and its price based on its con- 
tents. The first shipments from a guano deposit are 
the richest and most valuable, but deteriorate as the 
deposit is drawn upon. 

CHEAPEST FORM OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 

The Pennsylvania State Department of Agricul- 
ture, in Bulletin No. 94, gives the results of 12 years' 
experiments with phosphates, both acidulated and 
unacidulated, and seems to show conclusively that 
the best form in which to purchase phosphoric acid 
is the untreated bone or rock. This is only on condi- 
tion that there is plenty of organ icmatter, or humus- 
forming material, in the soil. 

Under such conditions (with humus in the soil) 
finely ground rock (unacidulated) gave better results 
than acidulated rock or bone. This was from the 
standpoint of both original cost of material and the 

U 



results obtained, and was true of all crops tried, 
except wheat. Unacidulated fertilizers always con- 
tain more phosphoric acid than the same fertilizers 
acidulated, as the weight of the acid used displaces 
some of the material, and if organic matter is used 
with the former, the conditions thus created in the 
soil give it additional life which takes the place of 
acidulation, and results in greater fertility. A num- 
ber of lay experiments and actual practice in Cali- 
fornia agree with the results of the Pennsylvania 
State Experiment Station. Where there v^as little or 
no humus-forming material in the soil, acidulated 
forms gave the best results. 

SOURCES OF POTASH. 

Potash is found as a chloride, or muriate, as a 
sulphate, and in a crude form called kainit. The 
latter contains 12V2% actual potash. The muriate 
and sulphate analyze about 50% actual potash. 
The Stassfurt mines of Germany supply the most of 
this product. 

The potash of manufactured fertilizers is seldom 
all animal matter. All forms dissolve readily, so 
there is no danger of buying potash in unavailable 
form. It takes about two pounds of sulphate, or 
muriate, of potash to make one pound actual potash, 
or 10% sulphate to make 5% ''actual." 

Wood ashes and stable manure are also sources 
of potash, obtainable hov^^ever, in very limited quan- 

15 



titles. Wood ashes, unleached, will contain from 
4V2% to 7% potash: stable manure contains about 
0.4% potash. 

The sulphate of potash is the best form in which 
to purchase. It has no ill effects on many plants, 
while the muriate or chloride form does. The sul- 
phate can also be used as a *' fixer" of ammonia in 
stables and manure pits, while the muriate might 
cause the escape of ammonia. 

AVAILABILITY. 

Buyers of fertilizers should alwaj^s know the 
source and form of the different plant foods. This 
knowledge and the results obtained will determine 
their availability. Nitrogen from nitrate of soda is 
the most available form of any. Nitrogen from 
blood is more available than that from raw bone. 

Phosphoric acid from acid phosphates (rock or 
bone) is more soluble than the non-acid phosphates. 

Steamed bone finely ground is more soluble than 
raw bone. The phosphoric acid from tankage is 
more available than that from raw bone. Both the 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid as found in animal 
tankage and guanos, finely ground, are very avail, 
able forms. 

Soil moisture, root acids and fermentation are 
the dissolving agents in all soils. The high tempera- 
tures of summer increase their action, and hence the 
availability of fertilizing elements. 

16 



Roots cannot take up plant food unless it is pro- 
vided in solution, and different forms of fertilizers 
respond differently to these dissolving agents. Fine 
grinding is very important. As a i*ule, organic forms 
are most available. There are some exceptions, such 
as sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda and the acid 
phosphates. The latter act best in soils that do not 
contain enough lime or iron or other bases to cause 
rapid reversion to insolubility. 

If the farmer knows the source and form of the 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid, he has a guide to their 
availability. 

All forms of potash as usually purchased in fertil- 
izers are readily dissolved and there is no danger ot 
buying this ingredient in an insoluble form. 

Some substances, as barnyard manure and lime, 
make all fertilizers more available, but they do not add 
plant food to the soil in the amounts, nor as fast as 
required, and their use alone will in time exhaust a 
soil. Especially is this true of lime. Better results 
will be obtained by using commercial fertilizers with 
manure than by using either one alone, because the 
conditions of availability will be increased. (See also 
'^Cultivation and Fertilizers.") 

INSOLUBILITY DESIRABLE. 

It is well known that the nitrates may easily be 
lost by leaching, because they are soluble. This is 
not the case with the phosphates, or phosphorous 

17 



compounds, as these are alwa3^s insoluble even in the 
most fertile soils. Numerous anal^^ses of the ''run 
off' waters show this. The nitrates being always 
available to the plant, stimulate its feeding powers 
and force it to act on such insoluble compounds as 
the phosphates, which, in turn, by yielding slowly, 
regulate growth and maintain for a longer time the 
soil's productive power. 

It can readilj^ be seen that the loss would be 
many times greater if the phosphates and other com- 
pounds were soluble as well as the nitates. 

The phosphoric acid of soils is practical^ always 
insoluble. This is true of new lands, the richest and 
most productive known. It is nature's method. All 
fertile soils contain such bases as lime, iron and others 
that hold phosphorous in insoluble compounds from 
whence it is released only by the processes of plant 
growth and the chemical activities of fertile soils. 



THE PURCHASE OF FERTILIZERS. 

Fertilizers should be purchased by the unit of 
plant food contained, with due consideration of its 
source, and not simply b^^ the ton or brand, as is 
usually the case. Each twenty pounds of a ton is 
called one unit or 1 % ; 5 % is five units or one hun- 
dred pounds. Growers often ask, ''Can we afford to 
pay $40 per ton for fertilizer?" It depends entirely 
upon the amount and source of plant food contained. 

18 



We cannot afford $40 per ton for low grade analysis, 
but can well pay $40 for high grade-goods. Freight, 
sacking, storage and handling are fixed expenses on 
low or high grades. Therefore, high grades are 
cheapest. 

The way to figure the difference in value between 
several brands of fertilizer is as follows: 

Take nitrogen at 16 c. per pound, phosphoric 
acid at 5V2 c. per pound, potash (actual) at 6 c. per 
pound. 

(Note.— These values are based on the cost of 
nitrate of soda, and sulphate of potash laid dowTi in 
inland California points. ) 

Remember that 1 % or one unit of a ton is 20 
pounds. 

If ammonia is given instead of nitrogen you can 
find its equivalent in nitrogen by multiplying by 
.825%; for instance, 5y2 % ammonia equals 4.54% 
nitrogen. 

Do not multiply the percentage of ammonia by 
20 and then by 16c. as it then would read too much, 
but must first be reduced to terms of nitrogen. 

Also do not confuse sulphate of potash with the 
actual (or K2O) potash. The sulphate usually runs 
about 49 % actual. So, in round numbers, it takes 2 
pounds of sulphate to make one pound actual, or 2% 
sulphate to make 1 % actual. 

19 



Allowance also must be made for phosphoric acid 
if it is derived from raw bone. It is then worth 
about 2c. per pound while if taken from steamed 
bone would be worth fully 5c. per pound. In acidu- 
lated goods the phosphoric acid is in three different 
forms, with market values from 2c. up to 5^c. per 
pound: the water-soluble being worth 5i/^c. per 
pound, the insoluble, 2c. per pound. 

The source is just as important a consideration 
as the quantity when considering the value. Both 
the quantity of plant food (that is, of nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid and potash) and its source, which 
determines its form, are really the only, factors which 
compose the value of a ton of fertilizers. 

Here are two analyses of different total value 
w^hich w^ill illustrate the foregoing: 

ANALYSIS I. 

Nitrogen in terms of ammonia, 5 %. 
Equivalent in nitrogen (5X.825) 

4.13 %X20=:82.60 pounds at 16c $13.21 

Phosphoric acid (from steamed bone) 

12X20=240 pounds at 5V2C 13.20 

Equivalent to bone phosphate 26% 
Potash (actual, K2O) 

3X20=60 pounds at 6c 3.60 

vSulphate of potash, 5.9% 

Total value of ton $30.01 

20 



Note. — No account is taken of either the 26% of 
bone phosphate or of the 5 % sulphate of potash as they 
are only repetitions of the 12% phosphoric acid and 
the 3% actual potash, respectively. 

ANALYSIS II. 

Nitrogen in terms of ammonia, 5H%. 
Equivalent to nitrogen (5^X.825) 

4.54X20=90.80 pounds at 16c $14.53 

Phosphoric acid (from raw bone) 

13X20=260 pounds at 2c $5.20 

Equal to bone phosphate, 31% 
Potash, (actual, K2O) 

4X20=80 pounds at 6c $4.80 

Sulphate of potash, 7.95%. 

Total value of ton $24.53 

Although Analysis II is higher in its percentage 
of plant food, the form of the phosphoric acid is 
against it and cheapens it so much that the total 
value of the ton is considerably less. 

Either of these anal3^ses might be offered to the 
grov^er for, say, $35 per ton and No. 1 would be the 
best buy for the grower, and No. 2 the best sale for 
the agent or manufacturer. 

It is quite possible for the nitrogen to be in cheap 
form also and worth considerably less than 16c. per 
pound. The nitrogen from raw bone is worth less 
than that from blood, or bird guano, or tankage. 

21 



So the value of a ton of fertilizer is based upon 
the source or form of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid 
and potash, and the quantity of each. 

COST OF NITROGEN. 

Nitrate of soda, 96% pure, 16% nitrogen, at $50 
per ton. This yields 307 pounds of nitrogen, which, 
at $50 per ton, equals 16.3c. per pound or $3.24 per 
unit of 20 pounds. 

Dried ground blood, analyzing 15% nitrogen, or 
301 pounds at $50 per ton, equals 16.6c. per pound, 
or $3.32 per unit. From horse manure containing 
.5% nitrogen, at $2 per ton, equals 20c. per pound* 
to say nothing of the phosphoric acid and potash 
contained. The New York Experiment Station gives 
the price of nitrogen in nitrate as 15c. per pound, in 
meat and blood as 16c. per pound, in bone and 
tankage (ground) as 16c. per pound. 

COST OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 

Steamed, ground bone (not acidulated) at $35 
per ton, containing 25% phosphoric acid (500 
pounds) equals 6c. per pound, less the value of 1% 
nitrogen (20 pounds) contained in steamed bone at 
16.4c. per pound would make the net cost of phos- 
phoric acid about $1.10 per 20 pounds, or 5V2C. per 
pound. Thomas Phosphate Powder, 17% phosphoric 
acid, at $22.50 per ton, would cost $1.30 per unit^ 
or 6^c. per pound. 

22 



COST OF POTASH. 

The sulphate yielding 49% actual potash can be 
bought for $60 per ton, making the actual potash 
cost 6c. per pound or $1.20 per unit, or 20 pounds 
of a ton. 

MOST ECONOMICAL FORM OF FERTILIZERS. 

If the price of nitrogen is the same in nitrates, 
and bone and blood, the cheapest is that which 
becomes available just as fast as the tree wants it, 
neither faster nor slow^er. Is nitrate too quickly 
soluble for the tree to use all of it before a part of it 
is carried away by waste water? Is ground bone 
too slowly available or blood and bone just right? 
Who will tell, and how? It is a fine problem. 

If a form of plant food becomes available too 
rapidly, the moisture holding it in solution rises and 
evaporates, leaving this soluble, valuable, food on 
the top of the ground, whence it is partly lost by 
escaping surface waters, and part carried back into 
the soil by penetrating moisture. That is why slow- 
running water gives the most profitable irrigation. 
A^vv^aste water" right on one ranch from another 
becomes also a fertilizer right, provided the other 
man fertilized. 

If, however, some form of plant food, not so 
quickly soluble in running water as nitrate of soda, 
and yet readily soluble by soil moisture and root 

23 



action, is used, there is much less actual loss during 
a season, and its effect is more sure and lasting. Yet 
there are times when a quick-acting fertilizer is 
needed. This would then be the most economical 
form. It depends upon the needs at the time, and 
the farmer should know enough about the nature of 
the different forms of plant food to exercise judgment 
in the selection. 



GENERAL PURCHASING PRINCIPLES. 

1. The market value of every brand depends 
upon the amount, or percentage, of plant food con- 
tained. The nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash each 
have their own market value per pound, and these 
must be known to the grower in order to purchase 
economically. 

2. Be sure the food elements are of proper 
source and form to be available as fast as wanted 
by the trees. 

3. Purchase high grade materials. 

EXAMPLE OF FERTILIZER WORTH $5.30 PER TON. 

Fresh water mud, 2000 pounds, contains: 

30 pounds nitrogen (1V2%) at 16c $4.80 

414 pounds phosphoric acid (.23%) at 5V2C 23 

41/2 pounds potash (.23%) at 6c 27 

$5.30 
24 



EXAMPLE OF FERTILIZER WORTH $36 PER TON. 

Eighteen hundred pounds of blood and bone, 
containing 7% nitrogen and lOj)^ phosphoric acid, 
added to 200 pounds sulphate of potash, will make 
one ton analyzing as follows: 

126 lbs. nitrogen (6.3X@16c) $20.21 

180 lbs. phosphoric acid (9%@5V2c) 9.90 

100 Ibs.potash (5X@6c.) 6.00 

$36.11 

ILLUSTRATION NO. I— A HIGH GRADE FERTILIZER 
CONTAINING NO FILLER. 

ANALYSIS. OBTAINED FROM LBS. 

Nitrogen 51/2% 1400 lbs. raw bone, 3.5% 

(110 lbs.) nitrogen 49.00 

400 lbs. nitrate soda (96% 
pure— 16% nitrogen) 61.44 

110.44 
Phosphoric acid. ..1400 lbs. raw bone, 23% 

16% (322 lbs.) phosphoric acid 322.00 

Potash 5% actual.200 lbs. sulphate, 50% 

(100 lbs.) actual potash 100.00 

COST OF ABOVE MATERIALS. 

1400 lbs. bone at $30.00 per ton $21.00 

400 lbs. nitrate at $50.00 per ton 10.00 

200 lbs. sulphate at $60.00 per ton 6.00 

2000 lbs. Total $37.00 

25 



ILLUSTRATION NO. H— A LOWER GRADE FERTILIZER 
CONTAINING 230 LBS. FILLER. 

ANALYSIS. OBTAINED FROM LBS. 

Nitrogen 5% 1300 lbs. raw bone, 3.5% 

100 lbs. nitrogen 45.00 

390 lbs. blood, 14% nitrogen. 54. 60 

99.60 
Phosphoric acid. ..1300 lbs. bone, 23% phos- 

15%, 299 lbs. phoric acid 299.00 

Potash (actual)... 

2%, 40 lbs 80 lbs. sulphate 40.00 

COST OF ABOVE MATERIALS. 

1300 lbs. bone at $30.00 per ton $19.50 

390 lbs. blood at $50.00 per ton 9.75 

80 lbs. sulphate of potash at $60.00perton 2.40 

1770 
230 filler 

2000 lbs. Total $31.65 

Illustration No. I shows that if the analysis is 
high, only high grade materials can be used. Illus- 
tration No. II shows that if the analysis is low, either 
low^ grade materials or fillers were used. In No. II, 
high grade materials up to 1770 lbs. were used, and 
their value, pound for pound, is the same as in No. I. 
A filler used v^ith high grade materials is equivalent 
to the use of lov^^ grade goods and the resulting 

26 



analysis in No. II shows it. Less blood and bone 
could have been used in No. II, and more filler, but the 
resulting analysis would have been still lower. 

If, however, the fertilizer is acidulated, the per- 
centage of plant food may be low, as the weight of 
the acid used displaces some of the material, yet the 
fertilizer should be considered high grade on account 
of the more soluble condition of its phosphoric acid. 
Here the better form of plant food compensates for 
the smaller quantity. If the acid phosphate should 
revert to insolubihty on account of the lime or other 
bases in the soil, its purchase would be equivalent to 
low grade materials, as the advantage of greater 
solubility is largely lost and the total amount of 
phosphoric acid purchased is small. ^ 

THE "simples" and HOME MIXTURES. 

The ''simples" are the original materials, or the 
bases of which factory mixed fertilizers are composed. 
They are such materials as nitrate of soda, pure 
blood, sulphate of ammonia, potash salts, bone, 
phosphate rock, super phosphates, etc. Tankage 
and the guanos are '' simples," as they are the bases 
of manufactured brands. There are low and high 
grades of the ''simples" as well as of brands, and 
guarantees should always be obtained by the buyer. 

Sometimes these materials can be purchased 
cheaper separately than when mixed. Such is the 
case if the buyer is near a seaport or near the source 

27 



of the material. The advantages are the buyer 
knows what he is getting; he buys only the ingre- 
dients he needs, and he buys direct. Such advantages, 
however, do not always hold if the quantity wanted 
is less than a carload. Farmers can then club 
together and effect the saving. 

If, however, a complete fertilizer is needed, it is 
better to buy of a reliable manufacturer, as the goods 
are then mixed and blended more evenlj^ and cheaply. 
If several ingredients are needed, and these can be 
purchased to advantage separately, it would be better 
to apply them separately than to attempt home 
mixing, for a shovel and a barn floor will not mix 
foods evenly and uniformly. 

As a rule home mixing pays when compared with 
the purchase of low grade brands. If the manufac- 
turer offers HIGH GRADE fertilizers it is time and 
money saved to use them. 

WHY THE ANALYSIS DOES NOT ADD TO ONE HUNDRED 
PER CENT. 

The Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station 
Bulletin No. 47 says: ''The question is often asked 
why the plant food contained in a fertilizer does not 
add up to 100. For instance, the average Vermont 
goods this year contain in a hundred, 2.22 pounds 
nitrogen, 10.93 pounds total phosphoric acid and 
3.46 pounds of potash, a total of 16.61 pounds. Of 
what did the other 83.39 pounds consist, and is it 

28 



needed for plant food? It will be remembered that 

nitrogen is a gas, and phosphoric acid and potash 

respectively strong acid and alkali, and that they 

can only be useful in combined forms. If medium 

grade materials were used in the manufacture of the 

average fertilizer, as stated above, it might be made 

up about as follows : 

440 pounds of organic matter (blood, tankage, etc.) 

850 pounds of ground S. C. rock and sulphuric acid. 

llo pounds of muriate of potash. 

1400 lbs. 

This would leave 600 pounds, or 30 per cent, of 
the gross weight in every ton for moisture, dirt and 
useless material on which freight, mixing and bagging 
expenses, storage, etc., must be paid by the consumer. 

A complete analysis of the above 1400 pounds 
would probably resemble the following : 

Water..... 16.0 (Combined with organic 

matter and sulphuric acid) 

Nitrogen 2.2 

Phosphoric acid 10.6 

Potash 2.9 

Volatile and organic 33.0 (Combined with nitrogen) 

Gypsum 16.0 (Formed by action of 

sulphuric acid on rock.) 

Lime 7.1 (Leftcombined withphos- 

phoric acid.) 

Sand 4.0 (Impurity phosp. rock.) 

Chlorine and Salts.. 3.0 (Combined with potash.) 
Miscellaneous 5.2 

100.0 
29 



Of the ten substances which compose the above 
100 per cent, only three are of interest to the farmer. 
The value of the whole ton is based on the value of 
the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, only. 

In raw bone, for example, it is impossible to give 
a farmer the S% nitrogen and the 24% phosphoric 
acid contained without giving him the 73% of lime, 
gelatines and fats, etc., found in bone, for these sub- 
stances are in combination and the process of separ- 
ation w^ould be too costly. 

HOW TO UNDERSTAND A FERTILIZER ANALYSIS. 

Manufacturers often state the analysis of their 
fertilizers in a confusing way. They use two terms 
to express the same thing. Nitrogen and ammonia 
both mean one thing, and the analysis should read, 
for example, ''nitrogen 4.95% equal to ammonia 
6%," showing that there is not both the 4.95%, and 
the 6%, but only one or the other. That the one 
repeats the other. Multiply the percentage of am 
monia by .825 and the result will be the equivalent 
in nitrogen, as for example, 6% ammonia X .825— 
4.95% nitrogen. It takes 4.95% nitrogen to equal 
6% ammonia. In figuring the value of a ton in 
dollars and cents, nitrogen from blood or nitrate of 
soda has a market value of 16 cents per pound, while 
its equivalent in ammonia is worth only ISVs cents 
per pound. Only one should be included in the 
estimate. 

30 



And so with the terms bone phosphate and phos- 
phoric acid. The phosphoric acid comes from the 
bone phosphate. For example, it takes 30% of bone 
phosphate (sometimes called ''bone phosphate of 
lime") to make 13.74% of phosphoric acid. When 
both terms are employed by the manufacturer the 
words, ''equal to" should be used, thus: "Bone 
phosphate of lime, 30%, equal to phosphoric acid, 
13.74%," which means that the manufacturer used 
600 pounds of bone phosphate or bone— 30% of the 
ton— to obtain 13.74% of phosphoric acid. 

Multiply the percentage of bone phosphate by 
.458 and the result will be the equivalent in phos- 
phoric acid, thus: 30% bone phosphate of lime 
X. 458=13. 74% phosphoric acid. 

In estimating the value of a ton in dollars and 
cents, phosphoric acid from fine bone is worth about 
5^ cents per pound, while its equivalent in terms of 
bone phosphate is worth only 2^ cents per pound. 
Only one should be included in the estimate. 

Where the "soluble," the "reverted," and the 
"insoluble," and the "total" phosphoric acid are all 
given, it is understood that the "total" is made up 
of the first three mentioned. 

The sulphate and muriate of potash will analyze 
in round numbers about 50% actual potash (some- 
times expressed as K2O). In other words, it takes 
two pounds of sulphate or muriate of potash to 

31 



make one pound of actual potash (K2O). When an 
analysis states: ''Sulphate of potash 8%, actual 
potash 4%," it means simply that there is only 4% 
of potash in the ton, or 80 pounds, and that the 
manufacturers used 8% or 160 pounds of sulphate 
of potash to get it. The actual potash is worth 
about six cents per pound, while the sulphate is 
worth only three cents per pound. 

When both terms are used in stating the analysis, 
only one of them should be included in the estimate 
of the value of the ton. 

COMMERCIAL VS. AGRICULTURAL VALUE. 

Farmers frequently confound the agricultural 
and commercial value of a fertilizer. If one is high it 
does not necessarily imply that the other must be. 

The commercial value of any commodity is its 
market price, its purchase price, and depends entirely 
upon "supply and demand." 

The agricultural value of a fertilizer is its ability 
to improve the fertility of the soil and the condition 
of the crop in question. 

As an illustration, suppose a steady, long-lived 
food were wanted for some perennials as an orchard, 
blood would answer the purpose while nitrate of 
soda v^ould be soon exhausted or lost by leaching. 
Now^, w^hile the price of both nitrate and blood is 
about the same, ( $55.00 per. ton) the agricultural value 

32 



of blood is far greater. If a quickly acting manure 
wavS wanted the nitrate of soda would have the 
higher agricultural value. 

Again, if phosphoric acid was not needed for a 
particular soil and crop, it would then have no agri- 
cultural value in that case, but would still have a 
market, or commercial, value. 

In the selection of a fertilizer, the agricultural 
value should be considered first and the commercial 
value second. Good results are of first importance 
as they repa^^ the cost man}^ times. 



THE USE OF FERTILIZERS. 

In order to use fertilizers intelligenth% it is 
necesssary to know the specific action of the three 
plant foods, nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, 
and when and how to apply them. So far as the 
author knows, there have never been any exhaustive 
experiments made to this end in California with 
special reference to citrus fruits. However, Idv the 
help of agricultural colleges, certan general principles 
have been discovered, and certain conclusive results 
obtained, in cDnnection with deciduous fruits and 
other plants, which are a guide and help in citrus 
culture. The few experiments which have been made 
with various fertilizers on citrus trees confirm these 
same general principles. They will be briefly stated. 

33 



EFFECT OF NITROGEN. 

The presence of available nitrogen is shown by a 
dark, healthy, green color of leaves and stems. 
Growth is vigorous. The feeding power of the plant 
is increased. If an excess of nitrogen is available at 
the time of flowering, and the supph^ of phosphoric 
acid insufficient, the bud and bloom and fruit will be 
imperfect and the total amount of fruit lessened. The 
fruit will then be rough and thick-skinned. Constant 
use of stable manure, without the addition of phos- 
phoric acid, will produce thick-rind fruit, as manure is 
relatively high in nitrogen. The size of fruit may be 
increased by nitrogen. A lack of nitrogen is shown 
by yellow trees and small growth, or lack of vigor. 
Nitrogen will not give its best effect unless phos- 
phoric acid is present. 

EFFECT OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 

Phosphoric acid helps a plant to assimilate other 
plant foods. It is also essential to the final maturity 
of the plant or its seed production, and hastens this 
maturit^^ if abundant and available at blossoming 
time. Although the navel orange contains no seed, 
phosphoric acid is as essential as though it did. 
What usualh^ thus goes into seed is needed elsewhere 
in the development of the fruit. 

If maturity' is hastened bj' the presence of an 
abundance of available phosphoric acid at the time 

34 



of blossom, the early ripening of the orange can be 
likewise effected. 

Phosphoric acid will not give its best effect unless 
there is some nitrogen present. Plants well supplied 
with phosphorous, vegetate faster and are earlier. 
If an over abundance of nitrogen is making fruit 
rough or ''puffy," phosphoric acid will correct this. 
Its tendencj^ is to make thin-skinned, smooth fruit. 

EFFECT OF POTASH. 

Potash is necessary- to the full development of 
the wood of the tree. If potash is wanting, the wood 
will not mature, and is subject to frost and disease ; 
neither can immature wood carry much fruit. Potash 
aids in the formation and transfer of starch, first to 
the leaves and from there to the flesh of the fruit, 
which -would be imperfect otherwise. The best 
authorities agree that potash increases the sweetness 
of fruits. 

Plants, undoubtedly, begin their growth in the 
spring on the food that was stored in their tissues 
the previous fall. Potash is largely the source of 
this stored food, and is consequenth^ necessary to 
the full growth and health of the tree. 

It is generally admitted, however, that applica- 
tions of potash are unnecessary in most California 
soils. Manj-^ cases are reported in which heavy 
applications of wood ashes gave no appreciable 
results. If the land in question has been continuously 

35 



cropped many years, as in a fifteen or twenty years* 
old orchard, tlie potash question should be carefully 
investigated. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

In a general way, both phosphoric acid and 
potash influence the quality' and fineness of the fruit, 
while nitrogen produces the vegetable tissue, such as 
the skin and pulp of fruit, and leaves and bark of 
trees. The juice and seed and smoothness and the 
number of the fruits can be increased by phosphoric 
acid and potash. The size and coarseness and large 
growth and late maturity can be secured b^^ the 
extensive use of nitrogen. These effects are noticeable 
only when there is an excess of one element and a 
deficienc3^ of the others. 

AVOIDING PURCHASES OF UNNECESSARY FERTILIZERS. 

Knowing the specific effect of the three essential 
plant foods, as just stated, and bj^ observing the con- 
dition of an orchard, a grower may frequently avoid 
the purchase of unnecessary plant food . 

Bottomlands are usually rich in nitrogen. Sandy 
soils are apt to lack potash. Clay soils usualty con- 
tain much potash, etc. Coarse, thick-rind fruit, with 
deep green color of leaves and a too vigorous 
growth, may indicate that nitrogen could profitably 
be omitted one season. An over abundance of 
smooth fruit on yellow trees of slow growth may 
indicate an excess of phosphoric acid tor the nitrogen 

36 



prCvSent, or a lack of nitrogen. Iron is as essential as 
nitrogen to green leaves and stems, so ^^ellow foliage 
may be caused by absence of iron as well as nitrogen. 
The amount of iron necessary for green foliage is so 
small, that lack of nitrogen is usually the cause of 
yellow color in citrus orchards. 

TIME TO APPLY FERTILIZERS. 

In the book of nature we read that growth is 
dormant for some months preceding the blossom and 
fruit-setting period. This is naturally the time of 
most moisture in soils, which, with root acids and 
fermentation, are rendering available and unavail- 
able plant foods natural to the soil. So, when the 
important time of blossom comes, the plants have 
their greatest store of available plant food to draw 
upon. Why, then, should not fertilizers be applied 
long enough before the l)lossom time to become 
available ? 

Nitrate of soda requires the least time. Blood 
requires more time than nitrate, and raw bone more 
time than blood. Coarse bone, and hoof and horn 
meal, are slowest in their action. Acidulated phos- 
phate acts more quickly than any other foi-m (that 
is the soluble portion.) Steamed, fine ground bone, 
used with some ammoniate, is next in order, while 
fatty, raw bone takes still more time to decompose. 

Many apply a part of the fertilizer in early sum- 
mer. This is intended to feed the later growth of 

37 



tree and crop and lessen the risk of loss bj- winter 
waste waters. 

Acidulated forms should always be applied just 
before an irrigation or rain, for then the water will 
carry the soluble portion to the deepest roots, 
wherever, in fact, water can go. There reversion to 
insolubility may and probably does occur in a few 
days, but the phosphoric acid is where the roots can 
act on it directh^ 

Nitrate of soda should not be applied in late fall 
or winter months while growth is dormant, as it 
would probably be leached away before the tree could 
take it up. Organic forms should be applied in 
Januar\^ or before. 

AMOUNT TO APPLY. 

As to the quantity to apply, no one can tell this 
-without careful experiment. Much depends upon the 
character of the soil, the condition and age of trees, 
and variet^^ of fruit in question. The most vigorous 
growth requires the most food. Each grower must 
be his own authority. 

A pound of high grade fertilizer to each year of 
age of the tree is the amount usually recommended 
for navel orange trees in full bearing. Orchards other- 
wise well cared for, supplied with this amount^ 
increase their yield each year. Usually, however, 
where two pounds per year of age of tree is used, the 

38 



yield of navel oranges is sufficient to warrant such 
application with profit. 

This is particularly true of trees over ten years 
old. If the fertilizer is low grade, the amount used 
should be doubled. 

METHOD OF APPLICATION. 

The best method of application is undoubtedly 
by drill, on account of its labor saving and uniformity. 
Though not over five inches deep, the drill covers the 
fertilizer, which can be placed deeper by subsequent 
plowing. The use of drill obviates the unpleasant- 
ness of applying in any w4nds which may prevail. No 
hand process is so uniform or inexpensive, though 
some other methods place the fertilizer deeper. It is 
well worth the extra cost to hire a hand to follow 
each plow furrow and place the fertilizer that depth. 

STABLE MANURE. 

An average anah^sis ot one ton of horse manure 
w^ouid be : 

Nitrogen— 0.50% or 10 lbs. of a ton at 16c $1.60 

Phosphoric acid— 0.25% orSlbs. of atonat6c... .30 
Potash— 0.4-0 'V or 9.6 lbs. of a ton at 6c 58 

$2.48 

The commercial value of the plant food is then 

about $2.50 per ton. Bam yard manure, when cared 

for properly, is a most profitable form of fertilizer, 

39 



because of its humic and mulch value. It is a bi- 
product of every ranch, costs nothing, and is worth 
about $2.50 per ton for the actual plant food con- 
tained. In dry countries it has a still greater value 
in its moisture-saving properties. As a source of 
humus it is w^orth considerably more than its plant 
food value. 

The more decomposed the manure, the more 
available is its plant food. If, however, decomposi- 
tion is too rapid, the nitrogen escapes in the air as 
ammonia, and humus-forming matter is destroyed'. 
High temperatures produce rapid decomposition, 
especially in a loose heap, so that the rate of decay 
ma^' be regulated by compacting the heap and 
sprinkling with water to exclude the air and reduce 
the temperature. If compacted too tightly, decom- 
position may be too slow. Moderate fermentation 
is the object desired. Loss of nitrogen, as ammonia, 
may be detected by the strong odor arising from the 
heap. 

If it is desired to obtain the benefits of the plant 
food in manure qtiickly, it should be stored under 
cover to prevent loss by leaching, and the temperature 
kept down by frequent wetting, and air excluded by 
settling the heap; decomposition may thus take 
place with a minimum loss of ammonia. If from one 
to tw^o pounds of either gypsum, lime, or sulphate of 
potash be sprinkled on the heap each day as it 

40 



accumulates, the ammonia is prevented from escap- 
ing. The gypsum must be moist for this use to be 
effective. 

If, however, it is not desired to get the benefits of 
plant food quickly, the manure had better be applied 
fresh and incorporated v^dth the soil at once. Decom- 
position may be slower in such cases, but loss of 
ammonia is surely prevented and a much better 
mulch obtained. 

'' Humus is not only the principal source of nitro- 
gen in soils, but it influences to a marked extent the 
available potash and phosphoric acid. Humus- 
forming materials, like green manures and A^ard 
manure, have the power, when they decompose in 
the soil, of combining with the potash and phosphoric 
acid of the soil and thus converting them into forms 
which are readily utilized by the plants." (From 
Experiment Station Work, V. of the U. vS. Department 
of Agriculture.) 



GREEN MANURING. 



The object of sowing the leguminous, or pod- 
bearing plants is four-fold. 

1st. To obtain the nitrogen which thev produce 
by their growth. 

2d. To set free unavailable plant food by the 
action of their roots. 

3d. To lighten the soil b^- plowing them under 
while green. The capacity of soils for absorbing and 
retaining moisture is thus increased, part of the cost 

41 



of nitrogen is saved, and danger of washing by 
winter rains is lessened. 

4-th. For humus, which is alwa^^s nccessar\^ for 
any form of crop. 

The Canadian field pea is the most popular plant 
for this purpose. Beans and clover are also used. 
Barley" and other grains have not the same power to 
absorb nitrogen from the air, and, unless turned un- 
der green, drj^ out the soil and render it hard to 
work. Barley is beneficial as far as its roots set free 
unavailable forms of potash and phosphoric acid. 

The green manure v^^anted b^^ orange growers is 
one that will grow quickh^, as California winters are 
short and dry, and growers cannot afford to let the 
ground rest undisturbed very long. 

HUMUS FERTILIZERS— NECESSITY OF ORGANIC MATTER. 

Humus is decayed organic matter. It is necessary 
for fertility, because all the nitrogen in soils comes 
from either an animal or vegetable source. (Ver\' 
minute quantities are a]3Sorbed from the air as 
ammonia and as nitrogen,) The nitrates come from 
humus. The}' are water soluble and can be taken up 
by the roots. Thus the plant gets its nitrogen. 

All fertile soils are rich in organic matter. The 
exceeding richness of new lands is due to the humus 
deposited by succeeding crops for generations. This 
is true of both the high mesa and the valley land. It 
is possible to use some chemical form of nitrogen and 

42 



raise a plant, but it is expensive, requires close watch 
ing, and is not practical. The nitrogen from organic 
fertilizers is yielded to the plant gradualty, with 
greater certainty, and is more lasting. 

Organic manures, whether of blood and bone, or 
stable manure, or green cover crops, not only furnish 
nitrogen to plant life, but their decay generates 
several well known acids, notably carbonic, which 
combine with soil moisture and dissolve other forms 
of plant food. Without these acids, phosphorous, 
potash, and other necessarj- elements would not be 
so available to the plant. Direct root and water 
action would then have to do the work alone, and 
the plant would not thrive so well. Humus influ- 
ences the availabiHty of the phosphoric acid and 
potash and converts them into forms more readily 
utilized b^^ the plant. 

Organic fertilizers hghten soils. Their decay 
leaves the soil open and porous. More oxygen is 
thus admitted, which gives more hfe to the micro- 
organisms which, after all, are the cause of all 
fertility. Better cultivation is possible in such soils. 
Light, porous soils are more retentive of moisture. 
Thus, organic matter literally builds up a soil. It 
increases its depth. A '' worn-out" soil is simply a 
soil devoid of humus. It is lifeless. Liberal applica- 
tions of organic matter restore it and change it from 
a tax to an income. 

43 



Humus-forming materials are, therefore, necessary 
to successful and practical farming. The best results 
from inorganic fertilizers, such as rock and acid 
phosphates, Thomas slag and sulphate of potash, 
are obtained when they are used with manure, or 
blood, or blood and bone, or a green cover crop 
turned under. 

CULTIVATION AND FERTILIZERS. 

Cultivation increases the availability of fertilizers 
by aiding nitrification and by saving soil moisture. 
All organic forms must first decay and then be turned 
into nitrates (nitrification), and other salts before 
water can carry their elements to the roots of plants. 

The decomposed matter (humus) is attacked by 
nitrifying bacteria and these require oxygen for their 
work. Cultivation increases this suppl3' of ox^-gen 
so that nitrification proceeds faster, and better 
growth results. The more frequent and deep the 
cultivation, the better the nitrif\dng bacteria can 
work. The size of fruit may be increased in this way, 
or a short season made equal to a long one. 

This principle of aiding nitrification applies to all 
forms of animal and vegetable fertilizers such as yard 
manure, blood, raw bone, guano, tankage, and peas 
or clover, planted for their fertilizing value when 
ploughed under. 

Frequent, deep cultivation increases the supply 
44 



of water in soils. Several well-known acids, result- 
ing from decomposition, unite with soil moisture and 
dissolve what ordinary water will not. Insoluble 
forms of fertilizers, such as phosphate of lime and 
silicate of potash, are probably thus made available 
to the plant. 

Moist soils sw^ell and are more permeable. Roots 
can develop faster in them, and the fertilizers, applied 
to the top six inches, as they gradually dissolve, can 
be earned more easily and deepl3% increasing the 
feeding area of the roots and the development of the 
plant. 

IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZERS. 

Plants can take up food, only when it is provided 
in solution. The food may be dissolved by water, or 
by direct root action, or by the process of fermenta- 
tion, which is almost constant in all soils. In either 
case water is essential, and the common carrier, and 
the w^ay in which it is used, seriously aifects the re- 
sults of fertilization. Especially is this true because 
the top foot of soil contains the most valuable 
fertilizing ingredients. 

There are three kinds of water in soils: free 
water, which moves by gravity ; hygroscopic water, 
detectable only by laboratory methods even in the 
dryest earth, and capillary water, which moves by 
the power of attraction between particles of matter. 
This capillary water is what plants feed and depend 

45 



upon maml3^ It travels up and down and sideways, 
carrying with it the soluble fertilizers. 

As moisture evaporates at the surface, it is con- 
stantly supplied from below by the capillary 
movement. The dissolved fertilizers contained 
remain on the surface after the water evaporates; 
hence the3' accumulate so that top soils are always 
the richest. The next rain or irrigation carries the 
plant food down only to rise again as evaporation 
progresses at the surface. There is thus an oscillation 
of v^ater up and down man)^ times a year. 

Certain forms of fertilizers, such as the nitrates 
(both soda and potash) ammonium sulphate, the 
sulphate of potash, and the acid and super-phos- 
phates are easily carried by water. If applied just 
previous to an irrigation they go to the deepest 
roots, v^herever water can go. If there is any waste 
water a part of them is lost. 

If the grade at the flume is very steep for fifty or 
a hundred feet, the trees in that space will be the 
first to turn yellow, although they are nearest the 
flume and received the most water. The nitrates 
have been washed to lower levels. Manure or straw 
should be used in such places so that the water will 
move more slowly and the nitrates retained where 
they belong. 

On account of the solubility of many forms of 
plant food, irrigation water should be handled very 

46 



carefu%. Do not turn a heavy head of water into a 
furrow until after the furrow is soaked a little and 
the fine earth compacted. This will lessen washing. 
The ideal movement of water is up and down, with 
as little movement on the surface as possible. In 
this way the rich top soil w4th its humus and fer- 
tilizers will be retained where it beloncrs 

o * 
VALUE OF SOIL ANALYSIS. 

Soil analyses are valuable for determining in a 
general way the needs of a crop. The greater the 
number of samples examined, the more accurate will 
be the information obtained. Very httle can be con- 
cluded from one sample. Taken in connection with 
the appearance of trees and vegetation raised on the 
soil, many a useless expenditure for fertilizing ingre- 
dients ma3^ thus be avoided. 

If samples of soil be taken according to the direc- 
tions of the State Experiment Station the results 
may be relied upon as indicating that soil's capacity 
for various crops. This information, with the 
owner's knowledge of previous treatment, together 
with the appearance of the vegetation and growth 
gives a pretty thorough diagnosis. Each of these 
sources of information acts as a check or supplements 
the other two. 

Soil analysis should be interpreted by an expert, 
for where Vio of 1% would be considered a sufficiency 

47 



of some elements, it would be regarded as a deficiency 
of other elements. A soil containing % of 1% humus 
is lacking in that substance, while that amount of 
potash or lime would be considered ample for 
fertility. 

Again, soil analyses may reveal the presence of 
some poison, such as carbonate of soda, or chlorine, 
in the midst of otherwise fertile conditions. An 
excess of either acid or alkali can likewise be deter- 
mined. Plant food may be present in abundance and 
yet the results be unsatisfactory^ on account of poor 
cultural conditions. This, also, soil analysis would 
reveal. 

Whenever there is uncertainty about the needs of 
crops or orchard, soil analyses should always be 
taken. One element, only, may be lacking and thus 
discovered, and the purchase of the element unneces- 
sary be avoided. The State Experiment Station has 
advised farmers that sufficient potash is present in 
nearly all California soils. General experience has 
confirmed this statement, thus saving the farmers 
many dollars annually. 




48 



INDEX, 

Acidulated Phosphates 11 

Agricultural Value 32 

Analysis Adding to 100 per cent 28 

Analysis of Fertilizer, How to Understand 30 

Analysis of Soil 47 

Applying Fertilizers, Time for 37 

Applying Fertilizers, Amount 38 

Applying Fertilizers, Method 39 

Availability 16 

Bone 12 

Commercial Value 32 

Cultivation, Relation to Fertilizers 44 

Economical Form of Fertilizers 23 

Essential Plant Food 6 

Example of Fertilizer worth $5.30 per ton 24 

Example of P'ertilizer worth $36.00 per ton 25 

General Principles, Effect of Fertilizers 36 

High Grade Fertilizer, Example 25 

Home Mixtures 27 

Humus (Organic Matter) 42 

Insolubility, Desirable 17 

Irrigation, Relation to Fertilizers 45 

Lower Grade Fertilizer, Example 26 

Manure, Green 41 

Manure, Stable 39 

Nitrification 10 

Nitrogen, Cost of. 22 

Nitrogen, Effect of. 34 

Nitrogen from Air 10 

Nitrogen, Sources of. 8 



OCT, 26 1903 ' ^ 7 






Oro^anic Matter (Humus) 42 

Peas, Green Manure 41 

Phosphate Guanas 14 

Phosphoric Acid, Cheapest Form 14 

Phosphoric Acid, Cost of. 22 

Potash, Effect of. 35 

Phosphoric Acid, Effect of 34 

Phosphoric Acid, Sources of. 11 

Plant Food, Definition 6 

Potash, Cost of. 23 

Potash, Sources of. 15 

Purchasing, General Principles 24 

Purchase of Fertilizers 18 

"Simples" 27 

Soil Analysis, Value of. 47 

Source of Fertilizers 8 

Stable Manure 39 

Steamed Bone 12 

Thomas Phosphate Slag 13 

Unnecessary Fertilizers, Avoiding Purchase 36 

Use of Fertilizers 33 

EXPLANATORY NOTE. 



The statement made in the paragraph near the top of 
page 12, that the insoluble form of phosphoric acid has 
"no commercial value" should be modified. State agri- 
cultural stations usually attribute some commercial value 
to this form of phosphoric acid, say about 2 cents per 
pound, while the water soluble form would be regarded as 
worth considerably more. The agricultural value of 
insoluble, or tri-basic, phosphoric acid is very much greater 
than the commercial value or the station value. (See also 
"Cheapest Form of Phosphoric Acid," page 14, and 
"Commercial vs. Agricultural Value," page 32.) 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




